So far this seems like the best-reviewed movie of the year. I'm probably going to try to catch it in IMAX 3-D during the day Saturday.

Lot of reviewers have said it's the first film since Avatar where the 3D really seemed the best way to enjoy the film, and that they wanted to run right back in and watch it again, which is increasingly rare for me these days, much less for jaded reviewers.

It does lack spandex, sex scenes, guns and gore, capes, The Rock, Nicholas Cage and Shia LaBeouf and constant profanities, and what not, so let's see whether the masses respond to it. About the only complaint I've read is about some sentimental mushiness in the storyline that is probably included in case the mainstream doesn't respond to the whole spaceness factor.

There's a surprisingly good amount of substance to it that goes along with the visuals. I think the major achievement of it is that you feel like you are in the movie, not just watching it. The way he directed it, the way the camera moves, the 3d, all of it are done so well you feel like you are floating in space next to the characters going through the experience with them.

Also agree that this is a major theater movie, even IMAX 3d. I'm not sure it would work as well on the small screen.

I've read a few technical perspectives -- as much as I could read without risking spoilers -- that say the story and action are mostly believable even for space geeks like me. They took some liberties with orbital transfers and propellant*, and they gave Clooney a maneuvering unit that doesn't actually exist, but you more or less have to be a rocket scientist for these things to stand out. Between plausible engineering and ground-breaking fx, I'm really looking forward to it.

*For example, there is no way a space shuttle could go from the Hubble telescope's orbit to the ISS. But some of the Pentagon's Keyhole satellites used the same form factor as Hubble, and those could plausibly be in accessible orbits. I don't know if the movie specifically refers to the HST or just shows astronauts working on a satellite that looks like it.

My mom and I loved it (saw it on an AMC IMAX 3-D screen). Even if you've seen movies set in space a zillion times, it just feels and looks refreshing, and immersive. I might see it again on a Regal RPX just for the Dolby Atmos sound.

At times it reminds me a little bit of Robert Zemeckis' Castaway (w/ Tom Hanks, 2000) in spirit. I think that would be a good double feature.

Gravity has a relatively modest $100M budget so it doesn't need to make a mint.

While I'm tempted to ponder what Alfonso Cuarón and his son could do on a Star Wars or Star Trek movie (perhaps they could inject a sense of wonder, a sense of exploration etc.), perhaps it's best for them to keep exploring non-franchise territory if this is what they conjure. He did direct Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, so clearly he's not completely averse to big franchises.

I'm surprised Ron Howard's Rush is doing so poorly domestically, but it had an even more modest budget ($38M), so it'll probably be OK if it does some decent international biz.

Saw it in 3D which I normally avoid since usually the 3D sucks and stands out like a sore thumb but my wife wanted to see it in 3D. Glad she did since is the 2nd best use of 3D I've seen for a film (Avatar being the first). It's pretty seamless and basically just adds depth to the whole picture. There's none of the 3D effects where the things that are supposed to stand out have that shimmer effect - which I saw over and over in the 3D trailers.

The theaters "go big or go home" ad before the picture had me groaning but this is actually one of the few movies I've seen where seeing on the big screen is a must.

I have to disagree with him on the last tweet about enjoying a SciFi movie more than actual people in real space. There is a tremendous amount of mainstream interest in space exploration. Look at the attention received to the Mars rover, Virgin Galactic, and SpaceX. If people didn't care about space then Gravity would never have made the money it did.

Logged

That which can be asserted without evidence, can be dismissed without evidence.

WATERLOO, ON – Responding to numerous patron complaints, the staff of the Empire Theatres Waterloo reportedly removed famed Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield after he would not stop heckling a screening of Gravity, the space thriller that has recently dominated the domestic box office....

During one crucial and deathly silent scene involving Sandra Bullock’s character’s desperate attempt to reach her vessel and avoid dying in the void of space, the man who brought honour and fun to Canadian space exploration let out a long, piercing, and altogether perfect fart.

I've never been in an Ikea store before; I never pictured them being so big.

Oh, they can be big. A new one recently opened in our nation's capital and it's even bigger than the one it's replacing making it the biggest in Canada, with 2 stories, as big as 6 football fields, and about 1.2 miles to get from the entrance to the checkout.